A change of heart
by The mountain sage
Summary: This is my first fanfic so please read and review. Gaara is in the forest and Sakura finds him there. Gaara is introduced to a whole new feeling: love. The summary sucks, but my writing is better. I think. Gaa x Saku
1. Chapter 1

A CHANGE OF HEART GAARA+SAKURA

Please Read and Review. Disclaimer: I DON NOT OWN NARUTO! IF I DID IT WOULD BE ON WAY MOORE OFTEN!

"You can run, but never, NEVER hide." Gaara could still hear the sneering voice ringing in his ears. Orochimaru had chided him, goaded him, begged him to join the sound ninja. He had refused. "Why did I refuse?" he wondered out loud. "I could have given in and joined, why not?" "I know why." I voice sounded from a nearby tree. "Who are you?" Gaara yelled. "What do you want?" "I'm here to help you Gaara. You've shut out everyone. I'm here to help. "No," said Gaara. "Whoever you are, go away." And with that, he ran. He ran so hard he was sure no one would ever catch him. When he stopped in a clearing to catch his breath however, he once again heard the voice. "Why do you run? All I want is to talk." "No, STAY AWAY!" Gaara screamed. He then used the sand to burrow deep underground and far away. He came out in another clearing. He then sat, exhausted, until suddenly he felt someone behind him. He waited till they were close. He whirled around and found himself touching noses with Sakura. She kissed him and ran into the forest. Gaara passed out. He awoke sometime later, and found Sakura standing over him. She winked at him, and once again ran into the forest. He tried to stop her using the sand, but nothing responded. He got up and chased after her. He searched every tree he saw along the way, as well as every nook, cranny and crevice. He came to another clearing and sat down to rest. He lay down, utterly exhausted. "Why does everything always slip through my fingers!?!?" He screamed, took aim at the nearest tree and incinerated it. "Gaara! I'm over here!" Sakura called out temptingly. She stood on the other side of the clearing. Gaara sat up slowly. "What do you want with me?" Gaara asked. "I want to know why you shut everyone out all the time." She answered as she walked slowly across the clearing. "Every time I trust someone, they double-cross me, like Yashamaru..." Gaara answered. "He tried to kill me, even though I thought his lies were the truth. I let no one in because of the pain and deception that comes with the outside world." With that, he turned away from her and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he found Sakura staring him in the face, hers almost touching his. "What are you doing?!?!" he yelled as he scrambled backwards. He then covered himself in an enclosure of sand. He cringed as he heard her coming closer. With a sigh, she reached her hand into his dome. "No way," he thought. "This has to be some crazy hallucination. There's no way SHE could make it past his sand. And yet, here she was, hand reaching for his. His head started to pound. His heart started racing. He had no idea how to react. Part of him wanted to run away, to run from whatever crazy joke this was and forget everything. The other part of him was a strange new sensation. He felt this longing, this loneliness the wanted to reach out, take her hand and let her into his world. His head felt like someone had beaten it against a wall. His heart was close to exploding. Sweat poured down his face. He felt as if his body was going to split in half. Fighting the urge to throw up, He reached out and grabbed her hand. Instantly, the sand melted away. He tried to summon it, but it wouldn't work. As Sakura pulled him up, he felt light as a feather. He did not resist as she slid her arms around him, and he tried not to yell out loud. Not knowing what to do, he followed her lead and put his arms around her.

All right, there is the first chapter. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, here we go, Chapter two. I think I got the whole spacing thing figured out, so this one should be easier to read.

She put her head on his shoulder, and he tried to stop himself from falling over. His head felt light, and his entire body felt like it was on fire. He looked at her and saw how happy she looked. "Sakura" he asked, "Why me?" "Because…" she answered. Then she reached up and kissed him. His eyes flew open. His head went numb, but his mouth felt like a raging inferno. He became intensely aware of how her body pressed up against him, of the warmth she gave off, how her hair caught the sunlight, and of how much he wanted this moment to last forever. His heart seemed to stop. His fingers tingled. His legs felt like Jello. His arms had locked tight around her, and he couldn't think straight. He had never felt like this before. His brain was getting so much information, yet his mind felt empty. He couldn't recognize where he was. All he knew, all he cared about, all he knew existed, was Sakura. As he kissed her back, the sand in the gourd on his back slowly crept out. he forced it back in. He didn't care who saw. He now understood why he had felt lonely. He cared for her, and it filled a void deep inside. Their kiss ended, Sakura's lips lingering over his. "Gaara… she whispered. "Sakura… he whispered back. They both hugged each other tightly. "Awwwwww… how touching. The little rogue has a girlfriend. Gaara whirled to see Orochimaru standing on the other side of the clearing. There you have it. I know it's another cliffhanger, but the next chapter should be up in about 30 mins. 


	3. Chapter 3

Well, I'm not sure why the spacing isn't working. Anyway, here's chapter 3:

"I already told you Orochimaru, I'm not interested in joining your little group." Gaara snarled. "Oh really? What about if a bribe you?" with that he shot out his tongue, straight for Sakura. Gaara simply grabbed it and flung Orochimaru like a discus player would. "Remember this, Gaara of the Desert, as long as I live, I will not stop hunting you!" He screamed as he faded into the horizon. "Gaara, that was amazing!" Sakura exclaimed. "Thanks, but it was really nothing." "Did he just say thanks?" Sakura thought. "I must have really shaken him up." Just then, they heard two voices calling out. "Gaara! Where are you? Gaara!" "There you are!" Temari and Konkuro burst out of the trees on the other side of the clearing. Gaara! We've been looking for you everwh-" Temari cut off as she spotted Sakura. "Gaara… what's going on" Konkuro asked. "And what's this girl doing here?" Temari added. "I'm here because I want to be here. Why are YOU here?" Sakura responded. "We're his brother and sister" Konkuro explained. "And we want to know what's going on." "Temari, Konkuro, Leave. Now." Gaara told them. "Gaara, we are not leaving till we find out what's going o-" "Now." Said Gaara, cutting Temari off. "What's going on here is none of your business. Now PLEASE leave." "Fine, but when you get back you are in SO much trouble." Gaara and Sakura could still hear their mumbling as they made their way out of the clearing. Suddenly, two kunai came whizzing through the air at Gaara's head. Sand rose up to stop them. "Step away from Sakura, or there'll be much worse." Gaara heard Sasuke's voice and turned to see him and Naruto walking across the clearing. "Sakura!" Naruto yelled. "What're you doing!?!? Get away from him. Sakura responded by walking up beside Gaara and leaning on to his shoulder, grabbing his arm and smiling at Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke's jaws hit the ground. "You…You… WHAT!?!?!' Naruto yelled. "Did I miss something? Last time I checked you weren't prancing off into the forest to meet… him!" "I didn't meet him, I followed him." You stalked Him?" Sasuke asked her in disbelief. "Stalked, followed, same thing." Sakura replied


	4. Chapter 4

All right, Chapter 4:

"Now, you two, please leave." "uh-uh, no WAY am I going to stand here and watch thi-" Naruto was cut off as Sakura calmly walked up to him and punched him in the face. He went flying across the clearing, smashed through one tree and hit the one behind it with a resounding thud. "You want some?" she asked Sasuke. But he was already on the other side of the clearing, running as though the third Hokage were after him. "Well, that takes care of that." Sakura said. "What's wrong she asked after seeing Gaara looking incredulously at the tree she had punched Naruto through. "Oh, don't worry about him. He'll be fine. I'm not a killer." Gaara looked at Sakura, puzzled. "Sakura, why did you pick me over other guys like Sasuke , Lee, or Naruto?" "Well, first off, Sasuke has WAY too many issues, Lee is so overprotective and well, Naruto is a knuckle head." She said, counting off the reasons on her fingers. "And also, you are so full of mystery and intrigue. No one makes into your little shell, and the hermit type personality is attractive. Third, you are totally cute." She winked at him. "So how do you feel about me?" she asked, looking coyly up at him. "Well, uh…" He desperately searched for words. "You're … beautiful… strong, and really…" He racked his brain. He had always shut people out, so he had never had to do this type of thing before. His head started spinning. This was way too much, all at once. His vision flickered, and that last thing he saw was the ground rushing towards him.

All right, there you have it. You know the drill please read and review.


	5. Chapter 5

All right chapter… 5 is it? Lets go with that.

When he woke up, he didn't know where he was. He looked around and saw the clearing, and remembered what had happened. He looked around for Sakura. He spotted her about twenty feet away, washing something in a creek. "Wait, there wasn't a creek there before," he thought. "She must have moved me here. Why? And what is she washing. He sat up, and found he had no shirt on. He disregarded this and walked over to Sakura." Oh, you're awake. That's good." She said as he approached her. He noticed she was washing his shirt. "It was pretty dirty, so I thought I'd wash it." She said. "That, and I wanted to see your chest," she added silently to herself. "Uhhh, thanks." said Gaara. "How long was I out for?" he asked. "About three hours." she replied. "Three hours?"" he thought. " I wonder why I passed out?" "I'm gonna go take a walk." he told her. "Then he started off across the clearing, despite the fact that he had no shirt on. He had walked a ways into the forest when he heard noises in the trees above. He looked up and saw Konkuro and Temari. "What are you two doing here?" he asked them. " Never mind us, what are you doing without a shirt on?" Konkuro replied. "Well, I passed out, and Sakura noticed it was dirty, so she took it off and washed it." He watched Konkuro and Temari's mouths open. "What's happened to you Gaara? Just yesterday you were a total recluse. Now you're letting girls you barely even know take your shirt off?" Temari asked unbelievingly. "Well, yeah I guess." Gaara scratched the back of his head and smiled at them unconvincingly. " All right Gaara, we're taking you back to Suna, and we're going to have the best doctor take a look at you. We think there might be something wrong." "No, I'm fine, I think. I mean… I don't know." Temari and Konkuro stared at him." All right Gaara, just, please, go back, get your shirt, and come back with us to the village." "No." answered Gaara. "I'm staying here, and you two are going back to the village, got it?" he warned them. Without another word, he turned and walked off. Konkuro turned to Temari and said: "We'll have to watch them." "Agreed" said Temari. They both nodded, then ran off in opposite directions.

Back at the clearing, Gaara was about halfway across when he saw his shirt hung on a branch to dry, and Sakura curled into a ball at the bottom of the tree, fast asleep. "She must trust me." He thought. "Letting her defenses completely down, on the sole basis of one kiss." It was true, he was not going to do anything, but it surprised him that she trusted him so much. He reached up and grabbed his shirt off the branch, then lay down next to Sakura. It was late, so getting some sleep wouldn't be a bad idea. As he closed his eyes, he thought about what he was going to do about Konkuro and Temari. "Oh, well." He thought. 'They're just being their normal, overprotective selves." With that thought, he fell asleep.

Yay, no cliffhanger! You know the routine, pleases read and review


	6. Chapter 6

All right, Chapter 6 (sob, last chapter.) Let's see what happens, shall we?

He woke up in the morning to see the sun just coming up over the mountains in the distance. He sat and watched it until he realized what had happened. He had actually slept. The Shokaku hadn't eaten away at him. "Weird." He thought. He looked down at Sakura, who was still sleeping. He wondered if this had anything to do with her. He got up and walked over to the creek. He splashed water on his face, and as it cleared, he looked at his reflection in the water. "What's happening to you, Gaara?" He asked himself quietly. He heard something rustle, and looked up. It seemed to come from the trees. "Just the wind." He told himself. Meanwhile, he turned his attention over to Sakura, who was just getting up. "Morning Sakura." He said. "Mmmm…" She answered him. "So, how are you going to deal with Sasuke and Naruto when you get back to your village?" "I'm not." She replied. "I can go out with whoever I want, and if they don't like it, then too bad." "I see. Well, I'm going to go take a bath." Gaara got up and followed the creek around the corner. He found a nice spot and tested the depth. It seemed pretty good, so he took off his shirt and got in. He didn't take off his pants because he wasn't quite sure where Sakura was, and he didn't want her stumbling on to her while he had no clothes on. He went under water, and started to wash himself. He came up for air, and saw Sakura lying on the river bank on her stomach, her hands supporting her chin, smiling at him while she watched him bathe. He breathed a sigh of relief that he still had his pants on. "Yes, Sakura? What do you want?" He asked her. "Oh, nothing. Just enjoying the view." She said. "Ok." Gaara said and continued to wash himself, self-conscious of the fact that Sakura was watching him. Her eyes wandered over his chiseled chest. She sighed, wishing it were hers. "So muscular," She thought. "And handsome." She looked up as she heard a noise that seemed to come from the trees above. "Just the wind." She told herself. Meanwhile, about a hundred yards away, Temari and Konkuro were meeting. "They don't suspect anything yet." Said Temari. "Yes, well we still have to be careful. They've almost seen us twice now." Konkuro interjected. "If Gaara sees us… well, even if we are his brother and sister, it won't be pretty. Let's go back to surveillance." They nodded and once again ran off in opposite directions. Back at the creek, Gaara was getting out. He took his shirt off the branch and put it on. He decided to go lie in the middle of the clearing so the sun could dry his pants. As he lay down, Sakura walked over and joined him nestling herself up beside him. She put one hand on his chest, and the other one stroked his head. He closed his eyes, totally at peace. "Gaara?" she asked him. "Will you come back to Konoha with me?" Her words made him think. If he went with Sakura, it would mean leaving Temari and Konkuro. If he went back to Suna, it would mean leaving Sakura. As he thought about it, Temari and Konkuro came storming out of the trees on the other side of the clearing. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Temari bellowed. 'THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH! YOU ARE NOT GOING TO THAT VILLAGE!" With that, she grabbed one of Gaara's arms and Konkuro grabbed the other. They started to drag him across the clearing. They had barely taken five steps when they found they're legs were stuck. Gaara had trapped their legs with sand. "Gaara, let go of our legs." Konkuro said nervously. "Yeah, we'll go back to the village!" Temari added. "You two come back and I break your legs." As Gaara said this, he released them. They both scrambled to get as far away from him as they could. Gaara watched them run with a feeling of triumph. He turned to Sakura. "Sakura… you really want me to come with you?" he asked her solemnly. "Because if you're serious, I'll come with you." "Oh, Gaara, you'd do that for me? Leave your brother, sister and village behind for me?" "Yes." Gaara answered. "I would do that." "Gaara…" she answered faintly. She walked up to him and hugged him so tightly he fell over. She landed on top of him, and Gaara smiled nervously. She leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips. Gaara was surprised to feel her tongue playing softly on his, and was pleased. She pulled away, and she helped him up. They then walked off towards Konoha, Gaara finally understanding what love truly is.

I hate to give you guys such a Stereo typical ending, but it's the best I could do. There will be a sequel, and I will let you know when I have it up. You know the drill, please Read and review


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